Planning Board Urged to Disapprove Proposed Development in Wetlands Area

To the Editor:

In our town, citizens are concerned about over-development, traffic safety, and the preservation of our community's character. We are concerned about flooding, soil erosion, and the protection of the environment.

On September 8, citizens will have an opportunity to voice their concerns about these matters to the Princeton Township Regional Planning Board. Landmark at Princeton, L.L.C., a real estate development company, has proposed transforming 15 acres of heavily wooded wetlands bordering Snowden Lane and Van Dyke Road into a mostly deforested neighborhood of McMansions. Besides clearing about 600 trees (last proposal), the runoff from the developed properties would be collected in a detention basin and released directly into a tributary to Harry's Brook, located on the western border of the site which ultimately flows into the Millstone River and to Carnegie Lake.

Landmark's proposed development is predicated upon a recently expired Freshwater Wetlands New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection letter of interpretation (LOI) that was originally obtained during a long term drought. It is fraught with deficiencies. Locally, concerned citizens have formed the Herrontown Woods Citizens Association and have petitioned the NJDEP to deny an extension of the expired LOI, asked NJDEP to perform an extensive on-site verification of the wetlands on this property, and requested a public hearing by NJDEP on this LOI given the sensitivity of the site and the impact that poorly considered development could have on down stream neighborhoods and on area wildlife that use the site as a natural connection between Smoyer Park, Herrontown Woods, and the Autumn Hill Preserve.

We encourage all concerned citizens to contact Lou Cattuna, Mercer County Section Chief, at NJDEP, 105 East State Street, Trenton, to voice their concerns about the potential extension of the Freshwater Wetlands LOI. We also encourage all concerned citizens to attend the Regional Planning Board meeting on September 8 at the Princeton Township Municipal Complex on Witherspoon Street. The Preliminary Major Subdivision and Major Site Plan for Snowden Lane and Van Dyke Road discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. At that time, citizens will have an opportunity to express their concerns and to encourage the Planning Board not to prematurely approve a proposal that would transform the nature of our community.

The attempt by the Recreation Department to make Princeton Rep and Victoria Liberatori appear to be unreasonable in negotiations is a matter of insupportable propaganda. It is not unreasonable for a person who devotes her entire artistic life to Princeton's Shakespeare Festival to desire some degree of appreciation and respect on the part of the community and to seek some permanence in order to insure professionalism and quality. The proposed disrupted seven-week season was insulting and unappreciative. It demonstrated the lack of understanding that has been ever present in negotiations with Jack Roberts and the Recreation Department.

As a past board member and longtime financial supporter of the Princeton Rep Company (PRC), I have watched with great sorrow the Recreation Department's sabotage and weakening of the Shakespeare Festival. Unreasonable and burdensome requirements are a matter of documented history. The two Princeton government bodies owe it to the public and to themselves to thoroughly investigate and to become involved. The final straw was this season's untenable production schedule and the bullying that occurred. Last minute movies and a short opera season displaced the Bard. There is no controversy here about one use of the amphitheater versus another. The fact is that there are not enough facilities at the amphitheater to provide an outdoor summer venue for movies, opera, and Shakespeare. But PRC did devote the time, energy, and money to put the amphitheater on the cultural map. Fairness dictated consideration.

To remain viable and professional, PRC needs a multi-year contract and a 12-week, unencumbered production schedule. Without a multi-year agreement, the PRC has great difficulty qualifying for non-profit private, state, and federal grant money. Most desirable grants are given out months in advance, not days or weeks. Fund raising requires a reasonably long-term life expectancy for the company. If you don't have the money or a two-show season, you won't have professional theater and Equity actors. A real question in my mind is whether Princeton deserves the Princeton Rep Company and the Shakespeare Festival. Perhaps some other community will offer a more welcoming venue. This cultural treasure is important, though, and should be reclaimed by Princeton. That can't be done without assuring PRC that they will be treated fairly and evenhandedly.

It would be simplistic to assign all responsibility to the Recreation Department. The municipalities have an oversight function and have provided their input. Jack Roberts and some of his staff are probably perfectly qualified to run a recreation department. I have strong reservations about their sensibility with regard to the arts and/or their qualifications to understand the needs and requirements of a professional theater company. If Princeton really wants high quality, professional Shakespeare, the Recreation Department is going to have to become a lot more cooperative, knowledgeable, and nurturing. They will have to be told what to do by the politicians who allowed this to happen in the first place. The situation demands honest discussion immediately and a clearer view of Princeton's cultural objectives.